I've been waiting for this one since I read the book in 1985! To me, the casting is perfect and the ambitious production values match the book's phenomenal success. If you've read it you know this is Nirvana for a lover of computer generated imaging: Space ships, free floating trainees in a gravity-free environment, a decimated planet, futuristic living quarters, the list goes on and on.
Ender is so called because in this future world, families are only permitted two children: He is a third, AND he is gifted. This has not slipped by the powers that be, because they need a gifted new tactician to help them destroy their sworn enemy.
We see:
Rated PG-13, youngsters can see other youngsters fight an intergalactic battle (the rest of us will suspend disbelief). To me, all the CGI in the world is no substitute for a good story. Here, courtesy of writer/director Gavin Hood ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), we have a really good story, albeit a bit far-fetched, so the CGI works just fine for me. The cinematography by Donald McAlpine offers everything from battling spaceships to Butterfield's eyelashes.
I'm ready for the obvious sequel.